%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1301998200077784600%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:300:[[Disney/{{Cinderella}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godmother_3254.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:300:The dream that you wish, she'll grant you.]]

A fairy tasked with helping out the protagonist of a tale, whether it's granting wishes, or other things, often with the aid of a MagicWand. Why this is so is almost never said, although some stories will have an organization of them. And yes, in early fairy tales, they are actually meant to be their ward's actual godmother.

This is also a highly DiscreditedTrope these days, usually associated with the most archaic parts of {{Fairy Tale}}s, even though this trope is [[NewerThanTheyThink a lot more recent than most of those stories]], and in fact very rare in fairy tales collected by folklorists; most Cinderella variants have her aided by her [[OurGhostsAreDifferent dead mother]], or (in such variants as Literature/{{Catskin}} and Literature/CapORushes) by nothing but her own wits and some advice.

It's still often played straight too, it's just so useful that writers can't resist it, although they often disguise the fairy godmother as something else.

Some stories might make this a DeusExMachina. An occasional subversion is to make the FairyGodmother evil, or cause problems from being not very bright.

[[folder: Fairy Tales ]]* Charles Perrault's "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" is probably the TropeCodifier. While most adaptations have the godmother appear out of nowhere, it is noteworthy to mention in the original Perrault text, she is literally Cinderella's godmother and actually seems to live with the family.* In "Literature/AdalminasPearl", the princess has two.* In "Literature/SleepingBeauty", she had seven, or twelve, in Creator/CharlesPerrault or Creator/TheBrothersGrimm respectively. However, after they made their initially good wishes, the fairies do never return to aid Sleeping Beauty (though the seventh fairy in Perrault's version puts the rest of the palace - except the king and queen - to sleep so the princess won't be lonely when she awakens). Many variants -- such as "Literature/SunMoonAndTalia", an older variant, and in fact the oldest known -- have no fairy godmothers at all, however.* Madame d'Aulnoy uses this trope in "The Blue Bird" and "The White Doe", where the fairy godmothers help rivals of the protagonists. Several fairy godmothers, including an evil one, appear in "Princess Mayblossom".** Her story "Finette Cendroun" is an early Cinderella variant that plays the fairy godmother trope straight however, and even predates Perrault's use of the trope.* In Henriette-Julie de Murat's literary fairy tale "Bearskin", the princess had a fairy godmother who is quite offended that she was not consulted about her goddaughter's marriage and so refuses to help for a time.** Another de Murat fairy tale, "Anguillette", plays this trope tragically. Princess Hebe is blessed with all sorts of great gifts, but is warned that when she falls in love, the love will get out of control. Hebe falls in love with a prince, but she ends up marrying another prince. This leads to the two princes killing each other in a duel.* In "Literature/{{Donkeyskin}}", the godmother delivers advice rather than gifts. Ironically, it does not help the heroine at all.* Deconstructed in the story of "Literature/{{Rapunzel}}", Dame Gothel, the witch who keeps Rapunzel prisoner, is not only her godmother (which is the actual meaning of "Dame Gothel"), but was a fairy in earlier versions, including the Grimm's original publication. This is also the case in early French versions.* In the Grimms' "One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes," the heroine, Two Eyes, is aided by a mysterious lady. Some translations and retellings refer to her as her fairy godmother.* In the Grimm's "The True Bride," a mysterious fairy helps the heroine complete three {{Impossible Task}}s demanded by her stepmother. Once again, some translations and retellings refer to her as her fairy godmother.* [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/marianroalfecox/variants/3.html Another French version of the Cinderella story has the Wicked Stepmother start out as the heroine's Fairy Godmother]]... fortunately, the girl has a helpful aunt who is also a good fairy.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]* ''Fanfic/TheGreatDisneyAdventureSaga'': This fic gives us Sophia, the fussiest fairy godmother ever.* The [[Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}} Contractually Obligated Chaos]] series features the Fairy God''father'', a Creator/MarlonBrando {{expy}} who is not really a fairy, but a LawfulNeutral ghost with a lot of unusual powers even for the setting. Fortunately for the heroes, he becomes rather fond of them and finds [[LoopholeAbuse ways to circumvent his own rules about favoritism]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek 2}}'' has a fairy godmother for Fiona, but she's actually the BigBad and the mother of [[PrinceCharmless Prince Charming]] and is almost a throwback to [[TheFairFolk older, more malevolent fairies.]].* Of all the Disney princesses, only Disney/{{Cinderella}} has a fairy godmother.* ''WesternAnimation/TwiceUponATime'' has a DeadpanSnarker version who tries to help the heroes out. She doesn't seem to have much faith in Ralph and Mumford, nor in Rod Rescueman, the rookie superhero she hires to help them on their quest.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* Deconstructed in ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'', with a godmother who's a fairy but is inconspicuous about it, and another fairy who has a bad habit of going to the christenings of complete strangers and giving them magical gifts they don't want or need. In the original book, however, Mandy is Ella's actual FairyGodmother, and she plays this straight, being a CoolOldLady; Lucinda just happened to be at the baptism.* In ''Film/ASimpleWish'', Martin Short plays Murray, the world's first and only fairy godfather, whose first assignment is to grant a little girl's wish that her father could get the lead role in a Broadway musical... while simultaneously fighting an evil fairy-godmother-turned-WickedWitch's plot.* ''Film/TheSlipperAndTheRose'', being a musical adaptation of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}", of course has a Fairy Godmother.** Ditto the Rogers and Hammerstein ''Film/{{Cinderella}}'' movie musical.* In ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', Aurora mistakenly believes that Maleficent is her Fairy Godmother. [[spoiler:And she effectively is.]][[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles,'' Harry has one of these, literally, and TheFairFolk are a lot scarier than in the Disneyverse. The kick is that Cinderella's fairy godmother would have been with the more Disney-esque Summer Court, while the Leanansidhe, Harry's godmother, comes from the [[EvilCounterpart Winter Court]]. While scary, dangerous, and insane by most reasonable standards, Lea truly does want to protect Harry and wants the best for him...[[BlueAndOrangeMorality in her own way]]. Due to a MagicallyBindingContract, he belongs to her, and she sometimes tries to collect. What happens if she wins? [[spoiler: You know those hunting dogs that herald her arrival? [[BalefulPolymorph ''They weren't dogs originally.'']]]] Later, Harry's "contract" was bought off by Lea's boss, Queen Mab, giving Lea the chance to prove herself to be very good (if ''scary'') to have as an ally.** Interestingly, during ''Changes'' she plays with the classic Cinderella storyline by dressing Harry for [[StormingTheCastle a very different kind of party]]. Being of the Winter Court, her gifts vanish at noon instead of midnight.* Played with in ''Discworld/WitchesAbroad'', where the protagonists are trying to stop a fairy godmother from making the peasant girl marry the prince.** Magrat is also (temporarily) a Fairy Godmother, having been left a wand with a tendency to reset to pumpkins by Desiderata Hollow.-->'''Ella''': Everyone gets two. The good one and the bad one. You know that. Which one are you?-->'''Magrat''': Oh, the good one. Definitely.-->'''Ella''': Funny thing. That's just what [[TautologicalTemplar the other one]] said, too.** In-series fairy godmothers are treated as a subset of witches, and in some cases the two seem to blend into each other; in ''CarpeJugulum'', which starts as a parody of Sleeping Beauty, the Lancre witches are invited to attend the birth of the princess. * In the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series the Mob has a [[{{Gayngster}} Fairy]] God''father''.* In ''The Ugly Duckling'' by Creator/AAMilne, the protagonist (a princess, not a duckling) has a relative who fits the fairy godmother role, though technically she's actually a great-aunt.* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'' series, "fairy godmother" is a trade taken up by women who can't fill the roles that "the Tradition" tries to shoehorn them into and end up with great magical power as a result. The job of being a fairy godmother involves using the Tradition against itself to minimize the harm done to everyone involved; they were originally actual fairies, but eventually the role got handed down to human women and the "fairy" part was only retained as a title.* ''The Godmother'' by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough. Dame Felicity Fortune ([[AddedAlliterativeAppeal "Fair Fates Facilitated, Questers Accommodated, Virtue Vindicated."]]) is a human recruited by TheFairFolk to act as an agent for them among humans, and is summoned by a social worker in Seattle who wishes for "a fairy godmother for the city". Unfortunately, since magic is uncommon in the world, she has to deal with the occasional ObstructiveBureaucrat to get things done. Sequels include ''The Godmother's Apprentice'', and ''The Godmother's Web''.* In Creator/AndrewLang's ''Prince Prigio'', the queen does not believe in fairies and so insists on not inviting them for their first son. They show up anyway and shower him with gifts until the last godmother says that he shall be ''too'' clever.* In the Old Icelandic "Literature/TaleOfNornaGest" (c. 1300 AD), baby Gest is visited by some norns who make wishes for his life. The set-up is very similar to that of "Sleeping Beauty", and the "norns" are functionally {{Fairy Godmother}}s. Though, like in "Sleeping Beauty", they do not return after they made their initial good wishes.* In Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew,'' Uncle Andrew explains that he may well be the last person to literally fulfill this trope: his godmother, [[MeaningfulName Mrs. Lefay]], was one of very few women alive with fairy blood. However, she was apparently not very nice to anyone other than him, and wound up locked up in prison toward the end of her life. She was also the one who passed on the magic dust that Uncle Andrew used to travel between worlds.* In Creator/EDBaker's ''Literature/TheWideAwakePrincess'', fairy godmothers roam all about the FracturedFairyTale landscape. One made Annie's sister Literature/SleepingBeauty, and another, to protect her, made Annie immune to magic.* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/CountToTheEschaton The Hermetic Millennia]]'', Narcis D'Arago sneers at the idea of natural rights, which he groups with phlogistan and fairy godmothers as unreal.* Inverted in Creator/TeresaEdgerton's ''Goblin Moon'', in which the Duchess (a three-quarter fairy UnevenHybrid) was ''supposed'' to become Elsie's godmother, but arrived so late to the christening ceremony that a substitute was chosen. Outraged at this perceived insult, she plotted revenge for years by ''pretending'' to consider Elsie her "goddaughter" nevertheless, but scheming in secret to marry her off ... to an evil troll disguised as a PrinceCharming, who'd drink the girl's blood on their wedding night.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Literature/{{Cinderella}}'s fairy godmother arrives to grant her wish...and is immediately incinerated by Rumpelstiltskin, who offers her a DealWithTheDevil instead.* On ''Series/GilligansIsland'', Mrs. Howell had a DreamSequence in which she was Cinderella and Gilligan was her "Fairy Godfather".** Likewise, on ''Series/TheJeffersons'' , George has a dream wherein Tom is his [[Literature/TheGodfather Godfather]]--> Watch it with that fairy stuff. [[/folder]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]* Myth/NorseMythology: ''Literature/ProseEdda'' relates that besides the three chief norns Urd, Skuld and Verdandi, "there are yet more norns, namely those who come to every man when he is born, to shape his life". Obviously these norns who visit newborn children to "shape their lives" are functionally the same beings as the fairies dispensing blessings (or curses) on newborn children in many fairy tales.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre]]* Ms. Fairy Godmother from ''Theatre/BigBad'' is portrayed as shrill and demanding, to the point of coming off as less sympathetic than Evil Stepmother.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]* In ''VideoGame/FairyGodmotherTycoon'', your faerie character is hired by a [[StealthPun Fairy]] [[TheMafia Godmother]] to run her potionerie and to knock the competitors off the town.* The Fairy Godmother from ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' will help you activate summons spells in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts''., in the prequel, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', she plays a small but fairly critical role in Aqua's character arc early on.* In the first ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' game, Gruntilda has a sister named Brentilda who is a fairy godmother. If you find Brenty, she will give you the answers to questions about Grunty in the "Grunty's Furnace Fun" mini-game, and refill your health if you're running low.* The ''VideoGame/DarkParables'', being based on classic fairy tales, have a number of these. One of them is actually one of the villains.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Weird version. Tedd's god-father is Adrian Raven, the half-immortal elf who teaches history at Moperville South. Raven's mother, Pandora, has decided that this makes Tedd her "grand godson," and that she needs to help and protect him. Unfortunately, Pandora is insane, bored, and wasn't really that helpful even back when she was sane. Her first attempt to help Tedd results him turning into a girl in the middle of a crowded comic shop and getting hit on by creepy guys. Later attempts include her randomly empowering Tedd's friends with magic, invading his girlfriend's dreams, and roping one of his friends (who she previously randomly empowered) into fixing a problem Pandora herself caused.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''* The ''WesternAnimation/PrivateSnafu'' series had Technical Fairy First Class, a kind of SergeantRock subversion of the trope.* One of these appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', and in a rather extreme variation of the theme, she was the ''actual'' godmother of a young child, and also a MamaBear who was willing to hunt down and use violence against anyone who tried to harm or kidnap her godson, turning people into mice if they wouldn't cooperate in her quest to do so.* In ''WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie'' episode "Scarecrowella", Electric Eel appears as Scarecrow's [[PunnyName Fair-Eel Godmother]].* Episode "Janine, You've Changed" of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' shows Janine under the influence of an evil demon passing as her fairy godmother. This as a way to explain Janine's radical changes in look and behavior throughout the series (which were due to ExecutiveMeddling).[[/folder]]----